Question: How can I keep my 2-year-old Malteepoo from barking and jumping on anyone who comes in the house? She gets very excited to see them. Is it because I live alone? She is well-behaved when we are by ourselves. – Esther
Answer: Your dog is just a friendly dog who gets overexcited to see guests. The guests probably reward her with petting and attention because she is so cute. This reinforces the behavior, making it more likely to occur in the future. In order to control your dog, you have to control your friends.
Ask your friends to ignore your dog until she stops barking. They can’t even look at her. Then, when she is quiet, they can reach down, pet her and love on her. Repeat this scenario many, many times and she will no longer bark when people come over. Then, do the same thing for the jumping. You can speed treatment of the jumping along by teaching her to sit for any and all interactions with you and with others.
In the end, you have a nice dog who is a little excited to see new people. Not such a bad problem to have.
Source: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/pawshere/2011/09/30/maltese-mix-barks-jumps-on-visitors/
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